10 Minute Sport: Powerboats throttle full on

Offshore powerboats:  Throttle full on

They could have taken a 'safety first' approach, as they had enough points in the bag to cruise to consecutive wins, but Warren Lewis and Andrew Koolen didn't back off on Tauranga Harbour as the curtain came down on the New Zealand offshore powerboat season.

Lewis and Koolen, on board Fairview Windows and Doors, their 35foot Skater craft with a topline speed of 142mph, only had to finish the 100 mile race on Saturday to be champions for the second year in a row in the national Superboat class.

But they took off like a rocket, beating Schick Hydro and Fujitsu Better Heat to the first mark, and led the entire race. The finale wasn't without drama, though, as Fujitsu's Tony Coleman and Chris Hanley battled the whole way, sitting just three seconds off the pace before disaster struck on the eighth of 13 laps when the boat jumped off a wave and the steering broke.

Lewis, who flipped his boat near Matakana Island the last time he raced in Tauranga five years ago, said they were in two minds about keeping the throttle open or protecting their series lead.

"We knew we only needed to finish to top the series so it was very much a mind game all day. Our expectation was to run conservative but the choppy conditions were perfect, with the boat running incredibly well in those conditions.

"Fujitsu ran a good race and it was great dicing back and forth. We were expecting a drag race on that final lap but they struck problems, although I'd say the race would still have panned out the same way."

Koolen and Lewis won six of the eight rounds, and Fujitsu the other two.

"It's been close racing all season and the Superboat class is running closer then ever before. The engines are all identical and the engine ratios and props the same. Everyone's boats are set to optimum and the difference is less than it has ever been."

In the Superboat Lite class Tony Carson and Brooke Faulknor confirmed their place at the top of the table for the season with an incredible eight wins from eight races.

In the 60 mile race there was also plenty of action as the boats burned up the course. Several of the boats found the Mt Maunganui end of the circuit challenging and there were plenty of dramatic leaps and splash-downs as the drivers contended with the rougher water in this part of the course. The win and championship title went to Mikey Smith (Konica Minolta).

NZ Offshore powerboat 100 mile championship overall:

1 Fairview (Warren Lewis) 3600, 2 Fujitsu Better Heat (Tony Coleman) 2900, 3 Schick Hydro (Scott Lewis) 2194, 4 Red Steel (Tony Carson), 5 Alimax (Gordon Robinson), 6 Espresso Engineers (Mike Gerbic) 617.

Golf: Nervous wait now

Taupo caused the boilover, beating Whakatane in their promotion/relegation playoff at Tauranga on Sunday to confirm their participation in Bay of Plenty Golf's championship pennant series for another year.

As top four clubs Tauranga, Mt Maunganui, Omanu and Rotorua jostled for a place in this Sunday's final at Taupo (with Tauranga and Mt Maunganui getting through), Taupo and Whakatane were involved in sudden-death of their own to stay up after finishing the round-robin in last place in their respective divisions.

Taupo grabbed the advantage at Tauranga, taking the foursomes 3 to , and added four more singles wins to their tally in fading light for a 7 to 4 result.

Whakatane face a nervous wait to see if they stay up. Kawerau and Tauranga clash in the senior A final this weekend at Centennial, with Tauranga unable to be promoted to the championship division because they already have a team in the top grade.

But a Kawerau win in the final gives them the right to challenge Whakatane for a place in the top division, a move it's understood they are keen to make.

The Silver ladies division will have a new name on the trophy after perennial winners Rotorua were upset by Omanu, who play Mount Maunganui for the title. Because the finalists are from Western Bay of Plenty both clubs have agreed to play the final at Tauranga.

Football: Action aplenty

As the Chatham Cup dreams of Waikato-Bay of Plenty Federation sides rolled on, and Taupo, Old Blues, Claudelands Rovers and Rotorua United bowed out, two league first division games were played, with six teams in action in division two.

In division one, Melville United beat Tauranga Boys' College 6-2 while AFC Fury were untroubled at Te Puna's Maramatanga Park to beat Otorohanga 4-0.

In division two, Tauranga City United demolished Matamata 11-0, Clube Algeria defeated Rotorua United 2-0 and it was a 2-2 draw between Katikati and West Hamilton.

Hockey: Advantage lost

With no play in the Midlands Intercity hockey premier competition over the weekend because of the national under-21 tournament in Hamilton, both Midlands age-group teams failed to make full use of home advantage.

The Midlands under-21 women, coached by Hymie Gill, finished third, defeating Capital 2-1 in the playoff. Midlands missed out on reaching a second consecutive final at the tournament after losing to Canterbury on the penultimate day. After wins against Southern, Central and Capital and a loss in their Tuesday match against Auckland, Midlands needed to beat Canterbury to go to the final.

But Canterbury were too good, taking the match 2-0 before losing 1-0 to Auckland in the final.

Despite losing four of their five pool games, Midlands men took on Southern for fifth and sixth places but lost 4-1. North Harbour won the men's trophy, defeating Capital 2-1.

At the conclusion of the tournament, seven Midlands players were named in Junior Black Sticks squads to prepare for next year's junior World Cups.

Midlands' Kate Kernaghan (20), Kayla Wilson (19), Brooke Neal (20), Kim Tanner (20) and Anita Hope (19) were picked in the junior women's squad, with Tauranga's Rose Keddell, now based in Auckland, also included.

Midlands men's players Matthew Rees-Gibbs (20) and Zac Woods (20) made the junior men's team.

Rugby League: Future laid out

Former Warriors coach Tony Kemp will be in Tauranga in two weeks to detail New Zealand Rugby League's plan for the 13-man game.

Kemp, the NZRL's high performance general manager, is delivering a series of game plan updates across the country, with the sessions an opportunity for the community to hear more about the future direction of the game.

Having run sessions in Rotorua and Tokoroa, Kemp's next update is in Tauranga at 6pm on Monday, May 28 at Sport Bay of Plenty.

There will also be an update from Upper Central Zone general manager Marcus Reynolds on the state of the game here.

Rugby: Juniors festival

New Zealand's grass roots rugby players will be treated to an internationally flavoured junior tournament in Taupo this year; to be followed by a tough second leg in Queenstown, at the country's biggest inter provincial club tournament, the New Zealand Junior Rugby Festival (NZJRF).

A touring South African under-13 team from Cape Town has joined a host of top Kiwi clubs from across the country on this year's entrants list for the NZJRF, and they will not be coming all this way just to make up the numbers.

"For us, the tour is mainly about the experience, but you can bet my boys won't want to lose a single game," Primrose under-13 coach Abdus Samad said. "It will be the first tour for the boys, many of whom have never left Cape Town."

Tournament director Tyrone Campbell is excited about the prospect of providing international opposition for some of New Zealand's junior club rugby teams. "They are one of the best junior teams in the Western Province and it will add to an already special event."

The NZJRF is for all junior rugby playing kids, not only representative players. The festival has strong values, with a huge focus on enjoyment and sportsmanship, along with promoting the right messages, which is why Campbell has declined fast-food sponsorship, instead, partnering up with 5 + A Day.

There are still a few places open for Bay of Plenty junior teams to compete in the NZJRF being held in Taupo on September 22-23 and Queenstown on October 29-30.

Volleyball: Revamp works

A rejigged Tauranga A women's team have carried on winning in the Midlands league, a precursor to the start of the Northern League competition based in Auckland.

The young team, with just three players back from last season, have started the season well with four wins from four games, adding two more wins to the tally on Saturday in Hamilton. The first game was a three set win (25-14 25-21 25-18) against Hamilton, last year's national club semifinalists.

The second game was a much tougher assignment against Tauranga C, a team the club are running in the Midlands league to accommodate three local players, Alyse Barclay and Melissa Cairns (Otumoetai College) and Andrea Tauai (Tauranga Girls' College), who are heading to the US on college volleyball scholarships later on this year.

It was an excellent game, with the A team just shading the C team 3-1 (29-27 25-19 17-25 25-23).

Tauranga A have retained only three players from last year - Lisa Claassen, the New Zealand captain against the Chinese team that toured here earlier in the year, Leigh Tozer (NZ libero) and Amy Hunter, the Otumoetai College captain and national under-19 player. Four players have been promoted from last year's successful B team - setter Holly Boyle (Otumoetai College), outside hitter Beniece Douch (Bethlehem College), middle Kim Wiersma and opposite Stephanie Pierce.

Newcomers to the team are Simone Head, an ex-Otumoetai College outside hitter, middle player Lauren Meyer (Tauranga Girls' College) and setter Sally Davenport (Bethlehem College).

The Tauranga B team coached by Dean Papuni are also doing well in the league, lying second equal after four games.

Midlands League games played at HBHS Arena, Hamilton:

Men:

Mauao Red b Mauao Black 3-0 (25-18, 25-23, 25-10); Hamilton Silver b Rotovegas 3-1 (25-13, 20-25, 25-22, 25-22); Hamilton Blue b Mauao Black 3-1 (25-18, 26-24, 20-25, 25-20); Mauao Red b Hamilton Silver 3-0 (25-7, 25-6, 25-13); Hamilton Blue b Tauranga 3-0 by default (25-0); Rotovegas b Tauranga 3-0 by default (25-0); Friendly: Hamilton Blue b Rotovegas 3-0 (25-15, 25-23, 25-6).

Points: Mauao Red 12, Hamilton Blue 8, Rotovegas 8, Tauranga 6, Mauao Black 6, Hamilton Silver 6.

Women:

Tauranga A b Hamilton A 3-0 (25-14, 25-21, 25-18); Tauranga C b Tauranga B 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-16); Hamilton A b Rotovegas 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-14); Tauranga B b Hamilton B 3-0 (25-9, 25-19, 25-19); Rotovegas b Hamilton B 3-1 (25-15, 25-21, 22-25, 25-20); Tauranga A b Tauranga C 3-1 (29-27, 25-19, 17-25, 25-23).

Points: Tauranga A 12, Tauranga C 8, Hamilton A 8, Tauranga B 8, Rotovegas 6, Hamilton B 2.

Rugby:  Matakana robbed

On a day when the Seeka Western Bay of Plenty club rugby competition came alive, Matakana Island were robbed of the chance to play at all and missed the opportunity for a valuable bonus point.

Te Puke Sports were a no-show, leaving the island team disappointed at having no game.

"This is the second time a club B team has defaulted to us this season. Not only do we miss valuable game time but two guaranteed bonus points are missing from our points table, effectively making it next to impossible for us to play in the Baywide competition," club spokesman Bruce Mack said.

"We also miss out on a day's taking in our club, which is vital to our financial survival. It is an unfair competition when a club that is leading the premier grade can default like this and effectively wreck our chances for the year."

Tauranga Sport at home proved too strong for the now struggling Arataki Red side, running up an unanswered 108 points. Eastern Districts had a battle royal with Te Puna to win at home 20-14.

Katikati proved too strong for Papamoa, leading by plenty for most of the game but letting in two late tries to win 35-12.

The game of the round was Arataki Black's clash with Mount Maunganui. Arataki got up by a solitary point, 20-19, to stay unbeaten and make it hard for Mount to qualify for the final. Arataki also retained the Hardy Rosebowl.

Two upsets saw Rangataua down Greerton 8-7 and Rangiuru register their first win against Judea, 23-12.

Seeka KI Western Bay scores:

Katikati 35 Papamoa 12, Eastern Districts 20 Te Puna 14, Arataki Black 20 Mount Maunganui 19, Matakana Island bt Te Puke Sports by default), Rangiuru 23 Judea 12, Rangataua 8 Greerton Marist 7, Tauranga Sports 108 Arataki Red 0.